Scotland seeks independence from the United Kingdom

Photograph — Time

While the United Kingdom might be debating how to leave the European Union with the implementation of Article 50 imminent, there’s a new storm brewing – fuelled by Brexit – Scotland feels it’s time to leave the UK.

Now in 2014, Scotland held a “Yes” or “No” vote to become independent of United Kingdom, in which “No” was the answer by 55.3 percent of those who turned up to vote but the decision of the UK to leave the EU in June of 2016 has the Scots taking a second guess on the “No” vote.

Why? Because Scotland wants to remain a part of the EU.

Scotland’s leader, the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon has dealt the first roller coaster to Brexit by announcing that she will be seeking to hold a new independence referendum in the next two years because Britain is dragging Scotland out of the EU against its will.

Sturgeon was quick to remind everyone that Scotland voted to remain in the European Union and, as a result, she plans to use this as a trigger for a second referendum on Scottish independence instead of being pulled into a “hard Brexit” that it didn’t support.

The move has already been criticised by the British PM, Theresa May, who may still be hung up on the “Better Together” campaign that ran across the UK in 2014 to keep Scotland staying. She called the referendum “deeply regrettable”.

Sturgeon on her part said she would ask the Scottish Parliament next week to start the process of calling a referendum, to be held between the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2019. She said by then, details of Britain’s post-Brexit deal with the EU would be clear and Scottish voters would be able to make “an informed choice.”

However it might be a big bite of something not easily chewed nor swallowed as Sturgeon would be seeking a deal that would allow Scotland to stay in the European single market and customs union but without big sister-Britain, is that possible? So far, there has been no indication that the EU would support an independent Scotland to join its ranks.